NEWS: President Buhari Makes U-turn On Petroleum Minister

Contrary to initial reports, there are new indications that President Buhari has reversed his decision to become the minister of Petroleum.

This was made known by the presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, barely two weeks after he had told international media that President Muhammadu Buhari would take the position.
The portfolio will now have no minister, while a ministerial nominee in the person of Emmanuel Kachikwu, the current Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, would be Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.

Bloomberg, yesterday quoted Adesina as saying: 

“he cannot be President and oil minister at the same time. He will supervise the ministry, so there will be no petroleum minister. Maybe he will appoint a Minister of State.”

Though Adesina gave the impression that the reversal was to separate the office of the President from that of petroleum ministry, it was speculated that the move may be due to some Senators’ threat to force a screening of the President in line with their rules, if he nominates himself for the position.

Buhari helped establish the NNPC in 1977 as oil minister under military government of General Olusegun Obasanjo.

He was later in charge of the Petroleum Trust Fund during the time of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.